Reason and Necessity: Essays on Plato's Timaeus

By M.R. Wright

Plato's Timaeus contains a powerful and influential myth, of the construction of the universe by a divine craftsman. A god imposes reason on necessity, to bring order from a primeval 'receptacle' of disordered matter. There results the 'child' that is the cosmos - a copy of an eternally-existing perfect model. Here eight new essays from a distinguished international cast, explore aspects of this challenging work: the principles of the mythical narrative, how the world soul and human body are formed, implications for illness - mental and physical, the importance of music and harmonious proportion. Later developments are also treated: Aristotle's theory of generation, the commentary of Proclus and elements of modern evolutionary theory.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0715630571
• ISBN13: 9780715630570
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Classical Press of Wales
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.3"